Harry was surrounded by warmth. Since he had come home from Hogwarts for summer break, he just hadn’t been warm at all. He slowly opened his eyes and also found he was quite comfortable another not going to happen with the Dursleys ever. He blinked, trying to see anything other than a bright blurring. The world was distorted. Reaching an arm out, he tried to feel for his glasses, but couldn’t feel them anywhere near by. Quickly, he snapped up in the bed and immediately regretted it as his head didn’t want to stay upon his shoulders where it belonged. He wanted to flop back on the pillows and drift back into oblivion of sleep. He narrowed his eyes able to make out a few things in the room, like the fact that even though it was blurred together it was pretty much green and silver…green and silver?!

Harry groaned as the previous night’s events finally caught up to him. He slumped back down. He was in Snape’s house. His groan turned to a growl as he rubbed his facel; he would not admit to the fact that the previous night had been some of the best sleep he had gotten…ever. Snape poured a bloody potion down his throat – who the hell did he think he was, going around and making people swallow things they did not want to taste? The git just thought he ruled the whole blasted world with that towering height and dark eyes and sweeping robe and smirking sneer.

Harry almost jumped out of the bed when he heard the door open, the sound loud in the silent room. Sitting up, he looked intently in the direction of the noise. He narrowed his eyes as a form walked through the door.

“I see you’re awake, Potter.” Snape’s voice sneered at him. Harry growled towards the form, this time loud and deep in his throat.

“You poured a potion down my throat,” he accused.

He heard Snape’s laugh…wait a minute Snape laughed?! The man drew up beside the bed, his face and dark hair emerging from the blur.

“Yes, I do believe I did.” Snape said, smirking down at the boy.

“What the hell gave you the right?” Harry shouted at him. “You think ‘cause you’re a teacher and bigger than me you can just make me do whatever you want. Well, I’m not taking it.”

Snape sighed as he grabbed one of Harry’s wrists to keep the boy from punching him.

“Two things you should consider, Mr. Potter. One, you obviously needed the rest, and two, I wasn’t going to be able to actually take a look at your injuries with the attitude you were giving me.” Snape spoke reasonably.

Harry choked. Tend his injuries? He felt his cheeks grow red. “You didn’t.”

Snape shook his head, trying to look regretful and failing completely. “I am sorry to say, but yes, Potter, I looked over your injuries and cured those that I was able. However, others I fear are going to have to heal the muggle way. Then, since you were already undressed, I put you in pajamas and levitated you up here.”

Harry waited, sure Snape would comment on his bony body or weak limbs or something equally embarrassing. When the potions master said nothing else, Harry stammered, “Oh, well, right, I guess. Where are my glasses? I need my glasses.”

He shifted on the bed to get up, but instantly hands pushed him back down into the soft pillows and kept him down.

“You are not to move from this bed, Potter. And as you are going to be in this bed for some time yet, resting and recovering, I might add, I did not see a reason to leave your glasses for you. You get in enough trouble with them on – one can hope if you don’t have them, you’ll have enough sense not to push yourself,” Snape spoke in a monotone, as if he were bored with the explanation.

Harry sputtered with indignation. “Now, listen here muummph . . .” a large, heavy hand clamped over his mouth, silencing him.

Snape glared down at him. “No, you listen to me, Potter. Against my better judgment you are in my house instead of at Hogwarts or 12 Grimwald Place. Both of which you could very easily be taken to. However, I am sure those idiot Order members would be stupid enough to send you back to your relatives, and as I do not want to hear about ‘Harry Potter has run away again’ I thought it wisest to bring you here.”

He shoved Harry none to gently back down against the pillows. “Also, you should be thanking me you realize if you had stepped down on that knee of yours again you would have collapsed and been in utter agony. So let’s have no more cheek, Potter. Let’s act our age and listen to those who know best.”

Harry looked at him, wishing him dead. “Give me my glasses, and I will leave for good,” he snarled.

Snape sighed and released the boy to run a hand through his hair. He had been smart enough to dress in muggle attire, worn jeans and a sweater, tying his hair back in case he and Potter had to fight, which it now seemed like that was going to be the scenario. Harry growled again and sat up once more; this time he winced pressing a hand against his ribs. Snape couldn’t prevent the smirk as it slid onto his face.

“Hurts?” he asked as if surprised, though he knew very well that the pain relieving potion he had poured down the boy’s throat hours before was already wearing off. He was grateful that the boy hadn’t remembered waking up from the dreamless sleep potion to cry out in agony. He would have hated the fact that Snape had soothed and calmed him down enough to give him another potion and then fall back asleep. Snape himself was shuddering at the fact that he had done so. Unfortunately for the two of them, Snape actually still felt pity for the boy now.

“I’m fine.” Harry insisted.

“Potter, I would much rather give you a pain relieving potion, but if you keep insisting on this attitude I am going to be forced to give you a calming draught as you are most certainly not calm.” Snape snapped. His temper was slowly rising; the boy just didn’t seem to get it through his head that he should just shut up for once.

“I am too calm!” Harry argued though the pain was returning and he wondered how much more of it he could bear.

Snape raised an eyebrow shaking his head as he gazed down at the boy. “You, Potter, are a liar. And a very bad one at that. Stop acting so childish for once in your life!”

The boy exploded, his temper raging in his green eyes. Before Snape could stop him, Harry lurched to his feet, but as same as the night before, the blood drained from his face. He was upright for only half a second, and then he crumpled to the ground.

Pausing to roll his eyes upward, as if beseeching higher help, Snape then knelt down and grabbed the boy up into his arms. Harry immediately began squirming in his arms, though trying to keep his bad leg still.

“Stop that,” Snape ordered, wanting to shake him, but fearing for his bruises. Setting Harry back onto the bed, Snape pushed down on both of Harry’s shoulders to prevent him from repeating the same action.

“Let me up!” Harry shouted, but Snape shook his head.

“You need to calm down, or haven’t you figured out yet. You can not walk with that knee, Potter. If you get up again or do anything other than lie there quietly, I will immobilize you for the rest of the day,” Snape declared.

A look of panic crossed Harry’s face. To be powerless to move or speak -

“But…” Harry whispered, not trusting himself to say anything else.

That was quite enough, Snape decided. He walked over to a dresser in the room and took out a vial of calming draught. The boy would most likely drift off to sleep once his body was relaxed enough, and Snape was betting on that. If was just worry and his own stubbornness that was keeping him up now. Snape glanced over to see Harry lying back, not quite flat enough to fall asleep, but not sitting up either. The boy’s thin hands were worrying at the corner of his sheets, nervous plucking that Snape could not stand to watch.

“Calm down. Worrying about what you can and can not do isn’t going to help you any.” Snape said as gently as he could. He was still trying to figure out what the hell was going on with himself; he was never this way to Potter; he could only guess that he saw a little of his own childhood in the boy. But there would still be quite a large amount of arguments and fights between the two of them; he could already see the arguments gathering up, waiting to be voiced and hurled against the other person. Snape was still positive that Harry was spoiled, though scars from previous beatings had him questioning that. Even James Potter’s son didn’t deserve to be put through that.

“I am not staying here,” Harry suddenly announced, looking up to glare at Snape’s blurred figure.

Snape sighed inwardly; okay they hadn’t gotten anywhere besides the fact the boy admitted that he couldn’t walk. Then again Harry never agreed out loud with him, he was quite certain if he left the boy alone he would be ridiculous and try again. Snape glanced at the potion in his hands. More than anything, he really wanted to give Potter another dreamless sleeping drought so the boy would at least stay in bed to heal, but he had already given the boy one not to long ago so he couldn’t chance it. Too many, and patients became dependent on them to fall asleep, especially one as thin and distressed as Potter. Snape stood silently for a minute thinking over his options. He walked back over to Harry, uncorking the vial.

“Potter as much as we both hate to admit it, you are staying here for the time being,” Snape said reasonably.

“I. Am. Not. Sta…” Harry began to state again, but instead found his head tilted back and another potion poured down his throat. This one did not taste as bad, but he gagged, trying to spit it out, but Snape pushed his jaw closed and held it closed. Harry was forced to swallow as Snape had also pinched his nose closed so he couldn’t breath. Releasing the boy, Snape smirked smugly down at him.

“Stop that! Get the hell away from me!” Harry shouted furiously.

Snape shrugged and set the empty vial down on the table next to the bed.

“Such language I will only tolerate so long, Potter,” Snape warned.

Harry snarled, though he was already feeling the effects of the potion. It was softening the edges of his senses, dulling the pain and replacing it with a floaty feeling.

“What was that?” Harry asked grumpily, mad at being made to feel better.

Snape reached over and pressed Harry’s shoulders back down against the pillows for the third time that morning, pleased when the boy didn’t resist and didn’t sit back up.

“A calming draught. You were starting to become hysterical. We can’t have you upset while you’re in so delicate a state. We can argue where you will be staying after you get some more rest.” Snape’s tone told Harry that he would get nowhere until he did so.

“I just woke up,” Harry muttered underneath his breath, though he didn’t really care that much.

“I realize that, but I also know that you have not been really sleeping, so just shut up and go to sleep and be glad I am being nice.”

Harry smirked, his eyes already closing. “Guess there’s a first time for everything,” he mumbled, and then he was asleep.

Snape frowned at the boy; he was simply infuriating! All this grousing and complaining and challenging, and then he was asleep, lying against the pillow like a child who never caused a moment of trouble or concern.

Snape grabbed the empty vial, and he walked to the door. He would be dammed if he actually tucked him in. If the brat woke up shivering, he could pull up his own covers.

Snape paused and looked back. Telling himself that it was only because he didn’t want Potter to wake up again, Snape walked back to the bed. He pulled the sheet and the blankets up to Harry’s chin. The boy’s left arm was flung up on the pillow at such an angle it would go numb before he woke up. Snape took the arm and laid it by Harry’s side under the covers. The boy didn’t stir.

Snape stormed from the room, determined not to even think about the boy for the next several hours.